


Rainforest Children

by kobusrain



Category: Ame no Mori Kawa Umi/雨ノ森 川海, BEYOOOOONDS, Hello! Project
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-25
Updated: 2019-09-19
Packaged: 2020-07-19 09:56:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 6,357
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19972147
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kobusrain/pseuds/kobusrain
Summary: They call themselves the Rainforest Children. This is the story of their final adventure on Earth.





	1. Prologue

This is the story of five children who lived on the edge of the forest. All orphaned, but treated one another like family. 

They called themselves the Rainforest Children, despite not living by a rainforest. They merely liked the rain, and played in it whenever it appeared. The house by the forest was their sanctuary, and the rain was their sixth family member. 

Their story has neither a beginning nor an end. It is only one never-ending adventure, and this story is merely part of it. 

Kurumin was the oldest of the family. She may be childish at times, but she has the biggest heart and cared so much for the other children. 

Koko, the second oldest, was the one the other children liked to call the ‘older brother,’ as she was boyish yet soft spoken. 

Yuha, intelligent and hard working, was rather shy at times. However, she loves her family and only opens up to them. 

Miimi, the most optimistic of the children, was very selfless. Out of everyone, she had the purest heart. 

Hime, the youngest child, was strong-willed and very prideful. She may be the youngest, but she was the most independent out of all of them. 

No matter what happened, the five of them stuck together, protecting each other. But with all good things, something bad would always have to balance it out. Their lives were not perfect, just as any other human beings in the world. 

This is a story of their final adventure on Earth.


	2. Sea Blue Memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> c: Maeda Kokoro

She held onto the local newspaper, eyes scanning each word on the front page before they darted towards the sea before her. Koko’s legs dangled from the dock as her feet touched the cool water, yet it did not help her focus on what she had been reading. 

Koko had no energy to utter out a single word in that moment, and instead she only placed the paper beside her. It was starting to grow late at night but no feelings of tiredness overcame her, even as her mind wandered to the memories from only a month ago. “That promise, huh…?” she told herself, glancing back at the paper and sighing once more. 

As she now turned her attention toward the water, she saw the memories that she had just played in her head, recalling them while a choked up feeling formed in her throat. 

* * *

“Hey, Koko! Stop zoning out when I’m trying to tell you something!”

The short haired girl blinked a few times, before turning to the girl sitting next to her. “Oh, Yuha…. Sorry,” she mumbled, rubbing the back of her head. “What were you saying? I...kinda zoned out.”

The girl named Yuha only rolled her eyes and sighed, before lightly smacking Koko’s arm. “Wow, how rude,” she retorted. Yuha puffed her cheeks, but eased up as she could not stay angry at the taller. “Anyway, back to what I was saying. I have to repeat it now because you weren’t listening. My teacher offered me the opportunity of taking a trip to the next island for educational purposes because of my grades! The trip is going to be one month long, but it’s fully paid, kind of like a scholarship!”

The excitement in her voice helped with getting Koko to finally gain some energy. The boyish girl straightened up, looking at Yuha with sparkling eyes. “No way! That’s awesome! I’m sure it’ll be a worthwhile adventure since you’ve been working hard at school,” Koko chimed with enthusiasm, lips curving into a grin. “It’s a month long, though. I’m sure everyone would miss you, so you better promise to come back home safely, okay?” 

“Of course!” 

Yuha was firm with her words, even if the toothy grin upon her face looked rather mischievous. However, that was just how she smiled, and Koko knew as much. The shorter girl held out her pinky, urging Koko to intertwine hers with it. “I promise to come back safely! I also promise to tell you and everyone else about the trip, okay?”

* * *

Just like that, she was gone. Never to be seen. 

The two promises they made were broken, but the memories still stayed intact. They may have faded from Koko’s vision, but even she could tell that they would not leave her mind any time soon. She began to wonder what had gone wrong, and what even happened exactly for things to go the way they did. Koko sat in complete silence, still staring at the sea where the only thing she could see had been her sad expression reflecting in the water. 

“You promised, though….” 

Koko could feel the tears beginning to brim her eyes, yet they never fell. If she had cried, she would not have wanted even the sea blue waters to hear her pain. There was nothing else she could do, except stand up and wipe her wet feet dry. As she slipped on her shoes, she picked up the newspaper and shoved it in her backpack, before walking away from the dock in a sluggish fashion. 

The wind had been too cool on her skin to the point where she only shivered with each step, but Koko still trudged through to go back to the forest where her home had been. Her mind, however, only kept repeating the same few words that she had read in the newspaper, as if they were permanently etched in her brain. Not even wishing that everything was a dream could bring Koko’s mind back to what was going on in front of her.

_ She never came back, and now I know the reason why. _

_ “Ship containing eight passengers return with no survivors on-board.” _


	3. Italian Red Trails

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> c: Yamazaki Yuhane

At that point, she felt nothing. 

Physically, at least. Yuha looked down at the floor, eyes tracing the trail of red coming towards her. They connected to bodies scattered all over the deck of the ship, including _her own_. The red on the ground matched with the italian red dress she had on, as if her dress was a mere continuation of the trail. Yuha slowly approached her own body, stepping over all the others in the process, and crouched down to observe the look of horror on her blood-stained face. 

She died. She became a ghost in exchange for her life. 

Yuha looked around once more, realising that the ship had been docked and people were coming in, presumably to investigate. “Everyone died,” she pointed out more to herself, shivering a little and backing away as the people clad in blue began to search around the bodies. Feeling uncomfortable with having to see so many people, Yuha moved away and left the ship. With each silent step she took, she remembered the events leading up to her death. 

Her trip went well, as she recalled, despite being heavily uncomfortable with the fact that she had to be with six other students and her teacher. She only found comfort in her family, and to be surrounded by her classmates did not quite help with easing her up during the trip. The problem, however, was when they were to head back to their town. The helmsman hijacked the boat, killed everyone, and sent the ship back to the docks before ditching the scene completely. That had been as much as Yuha could remember. 

But in that moment her main concern was not the fact that she had died. All she wanted to see was her family, especially Koko. As she wandered around town, unseen by any being, she spotted Koko trudging through the streets in a path only they knew. “Koko!” she called out, as she smiled brightly. Yuha waved her arms around, trying to catch the taller girl’s attention, however in that moment she had momentarily forgotten that she was now a ghost. 

Koko would not be able to see her anymore. Yuha remembered this fact, and grew sad. Still, she chased after her and followed her home. 

“Koko, I’m sorry for breaking my promise, but I still want to tell you everything about my trip… There’s still so much more I have to tell you,” whispered Yuha, reaching for the taller’s shoulders. Her hand went through, but it did make Koko stop a little. In that moment Yuha could see that Koko had been crying, and while the sight of it was nothing new to her, Yuha could tell that the tears she shed had been different from the other times. 

Upon Koko’s face was a look of defeat. All hope completely lost. As if she wanted to give up on everything. This was a side of Koko that only Yuha knew, and the side that Yuha wanted to save her from before she became completely engulfed in it. 

However, Koko and Yuha entered their house, which had been a quaint house by the forest separated from the rest of town. Yuha noticed that Koko wiped away her tears, and put on a bright smile, but instead of heading to her room like she would normally do, she went inside someone else’s room. 

“Oh, Miimi!” exclaimed Yuha, immediately spotting the girl lying down on her bed as Koko moved to her bedside. She waved at the girl named Miimi, but the girl did not return her wave. 

“Koko-chan! Welcome home!” greeted Miimi in such a cheerful way when Koko began to pat her head gently. Though, a second later, her eyes immediately darted to the spectre behind Koko. The cheerful look on her face dropped and was instead replaced with confusion and concern. Koko noticed this and looked behind her, but she saw nothing. 

“... Do you see another ghost, Miimi?” asked Koko, tilting her head a little. Her hand still remained on Miimi’s head, but the concerned look on the young girl’s face was also beginning to concern Koko. Yuha, on the other hand, only shifted closer to Miimi and had her eyes locked with her, as if Yuha was telling her something. “If it’s a new friend, can you tell me what they look like?” 

Miimi, after a few short moments of silence, spoke up. Not once did she break her gaze towards Yuha, nor did she make a single move.

“... It’s Yuha-chan.”


	4. Pink Delusions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> c: Okamura Minami

“Yuha?”

What scared Koko in that moment was the fact that Miimi answered the question with such innocence, rather than the fact that Yuha was watching over them as a ghost. It was as if Miimi was still trying to find a logical reason as to why she could see Yuha but Koko could not, and the thought of having to tell Miimi what happened broke Koko inside. “... Miimi, maybe you need rest. Did anyone else visit you?” asked Koko, now trying to change the subject as she could tell Miimi was bothered by the spectre she saw. 

“Hime came over before her classes started,” responded Miimi, smiling. She turned away from Yuha and now had her full attention on Koko. “Please stop worrying about me! I keep telling you guys that there’s nothing to worry about but you still keep thinking something bad is going to happen to me!” Miimi kept her smile, now remaining cheerful. Koko looked away, before she stood up. 

However, Koko reached for Miimi’s head and gently patted it. “Miimi, you’re doing that thing again, you know? Even if you tell us not to worry, we’re still going to worry because we know how much you’d like to be moving around instead of being confined in bed all day,” she said in a gentle voice. “I’m really sorry, Miimi. I wish we could do something about it.” 

Miimi barely moved her head, yet it was clear that she had intended to shake her head. “What are you talking about, Koko? I’m not upset about not being able to move. It does get lonely at times because everyone’s gone for most of the day, but I really don’t mind!”

Silence engulfed the room in that moment, and not even the spectre could say anything. They all knew the inevitable, so they had been aware that Miimi’s cheerfulness had only been an act to prevent the thought of her illness. A rare muscle deterioration disease that could no longer be reversible. Miimi was to be confined in bed until death. 

But Miimi knew more than Koko did. 

The silence had been interrupted when the door swung open. “Yo, Miimi! Oh, you’re here too, Koko? Don’t you have work soon?” asked the figure on the other side of the door, who was clad in a black school uniform and holding a plastic bag. Koko perked up her head and moved away from Miimi. 

“Oh, shoot! I’m gonna be late. Thanks, Hime!” she exclaimed, rushing out of the door after giving Hime a pat on the head. As they were now left alone, Hime took the spot that Koko sat at. 

Miimi’s smile grew, now being overjoyed to see the other. “Hime-chan! Welcome back home,” she chimed. In that moment she noticed that the spectre had left the room, but could still sense Yuha’s presence close by. Hime grinned in return, patting Miimi on the head gently. To Miimi, Hime’s pats were the best, however her smile began to drop. “Hime-chan…. Yuha-chan died…?” asked Miimi. 

Because of the question, Hime hesitated. She drew her hand back and looked away, as she knew the story from seeing it on the newspaper earlier. “Yeah. You know how she had to take that trip? Everyone died there,” replied Hime. She did not want to lie to Miimi, but talking about death was a rather scary topic especially with her condition. Miimi fell silent, which scared Hime even more. 

Hime looked away, fiddling with the plastic bag that she held onto. She did not know what to say, so she thought of changing the subject until Miimi finally spoke up. 

“Soon I’m going to be like Yuha-chan, right?” 

One look at Miimi’s expression felt like a stab in the heart for Hime. Her smile had been a sad one, which was rather uncharacteristic of Miimi. “Hime-chan, can you promise me one thing? I know if it’s you, then you won’t break a promise.” Hime almost did not want to keep going, but for the sake of not wanting to see Miimi’s sad smile once again, she nodded and let her continue. 

“Promise me that when I die, you’ll forget about me and move on, okay?”


	5. Orange Descents

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> c: Kiyono Momohime

_ I can’t promise you that…. _

The silence caved in between the two of them. It looked as if Miimi was trying to ignore the pain in Hime’s eyes, as she averted her gaze. “Hime, please,” she added, this time speaking in such a quiet voice that had been so unlikely for Miimi to have. The fact that she had also dropped her honorific meant that Miimi was completely serious, wanting Hime to listen to her. “Please promise me that, okay?” 

Hime shut her eyes, turning her head a little as she tried not to show any more pain. She shut them as tightly as she could, hands clearly trembling which was indicated by the light rustling of the plastic bag. After taking a deep breath, Hime spoke. “Okay. I promise it,” she finally said. The next time Hime opened up her eyes, she saw the bright smile on Miimi’s face once more. She had been weak to that smile of hers. 

“Thank you, Hime-chan!” 

Even with the heavy air around them, Miimi remained her cheerful self in hopes of lifting up the mood. Hime could not stay upset either, as seeing the smile on her face cheered her up as well. “Damn it, Miimi. You’re giving me that smile again,” remarked Hime, though she could not help but chuckle a little. “Anyway, I got food for you! Ya must be starving from all the waiting you’re doing!” Hime momentarily set the plastic bag down just to help Miimi sit up, before digging out the contents of the bag. 

Hime began to feed Miimi the bento she fished out from the bag, working at a slow and steady pace that had been the easiest for the latter to handle. She had stayed in the room for a long period of time, spending the rest of the evening chatting about with Miimi until she grew tired. As Hime helped Miimi lie back down, she watched as the girl began to sleep soundly before standing to clean up any mess that was left from Miimi’s dinner. 

“Sweet dreams, Miimi. I love you,” whispered Hime, placing a gentle kiss on the sleeping girl’s forehead. 

Miimi looked so relaxed. A soft smile on her face appeared as she slept, just after Hime leaned back. Quietly, Hime pulled some of the girl’s many plushies closer to her, before finally leaving the room, and as soon as she did the look on her face turned serious.  _ I’m sorry, Miimi _ , she thought, leaving the house and properly locking it up as she bolted into a run. 

Dashing as fast as she could to town, Hime had her focus set on the library, and she eventually made it there without any trouble. The library was empty, which was a given considering no one in town would want to be out at such a late hour just to go to the library of all places. Upon entering the library, Hime did not miss a beat and immediately started looking through bookshelves. The determination in her eyes flared as they darted from side to side with each shelf, searching for the one book that would give her the answers. 

She wanted to find a cure to Miimi’s condition. Everyone had already told her that it was impossible, but Hime refused to give up. “I’m not going to give up on you just like that, Miimi. I’m going to save you,” she murmured to herself. None of the books seemed like it would give her the answer, but seeing each title and summary of the books she passed caused the determination inside of her grow more and more. 

“Hime, are you okay?” 

The voice and the sudden hand on her shoulder made Hime jump in surprise, however upon turning around, she sighed in relief. “Kurumin! Don’t scare me like that!” retorted Hime, grumpily placing the book that she had pulled out back into the shelf. Hime took a deep breath, calming herself down while the concerned young woman who had approached her only chuckled. 

“Sorry, sorry,” said Kurumin, patting Hime’s head. The two decided to sit down at one of the tables near the far end of the library just to take a short break. “Are you okay?” Kurumin repeated, now extremely worried over Hime and how antsy the girl had been. 

“Kurumin, I’m going to sound extremely crazy right now but…I want to save Miimi. I don’t care if people tell me it’s not possible.” The look on Hime’s eyes never changed from when she had been searching the books, or rather, they grew so much stronger that it bewildered Kurumin for a split second. “I…. You know how much I hate asking for help but at this point, I’m desperate enough to ask for it.  _ Please _ , Kurumin.”

At first, Kurumin shook her head, which greatly confused the younger for a split second until Kurumin smiled. “It’s not crazy, because I want to do the same thing.” Hime widened her eyes, but saw that Kurumin had pulled out a small journal from her satchel. “I may have found a potential cure thanks to a friend, but I’m going to need you and Koko to cooperate with me.”

The younger did not hesitate at all. 

“I’ll do whatever it takes. Tell me what I need to do!”


	6. Mint Green Madness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> c: Takase Kurumi

Kurumin could not bear to tell Hime what she had done. 

The whole time, Kurumin had been at home, which had gone unnoticed by both Koko and Hime. She locked herself in her room, without once going out to reveal herself to the other children. Thoughts swirled around her mind, that she could not sit still at all that she had done a number of things with no sort of motivation before she collapsed back down on the bed. 

Kurumin did not know how to feel. The news of Yuha dying in her trip and something that the other two children did not know were piling up in her mind that she was about to...explode.

When she noticed that Hime left the house, and that she was left alone in the house with a resting Miimi, Kurumin picked up the scattered newspapers on her bed and made her way to the girl’s room. It was as if she had been waiting for the perfect opportunity to watch over the young girl, as it was the first time she saw Miimi that day. She had such a gentle smile that had been the cause of a pleasant dream, which made things harder for Kurumin as she collapsed on a chair by the bed, seemingly exhausted. The papers in her hand crumpled up ever so slightly with how tightly she held them. 

“Miimi,” began Kurumin, but immediately she silenced herself as she looked away from Miimi. She regretted speaking, even though the girl would not be able to hear her. Kurumin set down the newspapers, and instead grabbed a spare pillow from the closet with a sigh escaping her lips. Her hands were trembling as she was unable to sit back down on the chair. The young woman began to hesitate on her next action, that she remained standing for a few moments with her eyes shut. 

_ I’m sorry. This was the only way.  _

Her mind went blank, but everything had been done within five minutes. She placed the pillow back in the closet and left the house after grabbing her satchel from her room. The next thing she needed to do was to find Hime, yet it was quite simple as she knew the younger all too well. With each step she tried to forget everything that had happened in the past few minutes, and by the time she made it to the library, she had put on a smile. Kurumin was about to play one more game with Hime, and the only thing she could hope was that the young girl would not catch on. Kurumin told Hime the possibilities of saving Miimi’s life, and while Kurumin hated lying, it had not been the worst thing she did all evening. 

The determination on Hime’s face and tone of voice only hurt Kurumin even more, but she had to keep going. “Then that’s settled. I’ll give this to you but read it when Koko comes home, okay? I have a few errands to run so I’ll be out all night, but I can talk to you about it tomorrow morning,” the older said with a grin, as she patted Hime’s head. She bid her farewell, before leaving the library. Her next destination, however, was not in town. 

Instead, Kurumin headed to the forest, in a secluded area that only she knew of. It was on the other side of where their house had been, and while it was a long trek, Kurumin did not mind one bit. Soon she arrived to her sanctuary -- a cliff at the edge of the forest with a log sitting parallel to it from a few feet. This was her special place, used whenever she needed to get away from being the only adult in the  _ family _ . She sat down on the log, and as she drew her knees closer to her chest, the tears finally began to flow down her cheeks. 

_ I’m really sorry, guys. I didn’t want to do this. I didn’t want you guys to hate me at all.  _

For a while, in the dark, cold evening, she cried on her own. It was not until she felt a sudden chill down her back that she finally stopped crying. She knew exactly who it was from the presence alone. Kurumin looked up, and before her had been Yuha’s spectre. Just like Miimi, Kurumin could also see spectres, and she knew the ghost must have simply followed her there. 

Yuha only gave her a look in the eye, but it was enough to tell Kurumin what she was thinking. The ghost was trying to reassure her that the others would not hate her at all. That what she was doing was right. Just before Yuha vanished, however, she mouthed something slowly, easy for Kurumin to read. 

There was no going back. 

Kurumin got up and walked to the very edge of the cliff. Her tears were dried up at that point. She shut her eyes, spreading out her arms, and on her face was an oddly calm smile. 

Then she tipped over.

_ The rainforests of the afterlife will be kinder to us, surely.  _


	7. The Children of the Rainforests

As one fell, another stood up. 

With a new beacon of hope thanks to Kurumin, Hime stood from her spot after staring at the journal given to her by the older. Her heart had been beating fast ever since Kurumin left the library, but she figured it was time for her to get back home as Koko would be done work by the time she got home. Hime finally left the library, and at that point the moon had disappeared from sight, indicating that it was already well past midnight. 

She arrived home quicker than usual, as a sudden burst of energy made her run all the way back. By the time she got back, however, Koko had already been at home, indicated by her umbrella sitting in its place by her shoes. “I’m home,” she announced, though not so loudly as she knew Miimi was still sleeping. “Koko, where are you? I need to talk to you about something.” Hime looked in Koko’s room, but only found her belongings. 

The next place she checked was Miimi’s room, and certainly enough Koko was there. Yet Koko did not greet her with a smile. Instead, she saw how pale Koko’s face had been, and the sweat dripping down her forehead. “Koko, are you okay?” asked Hime, now looking greatly concerned over Koko’s behaviour. “You don’t look too good.”

Finally, Koko turned around to face Hime, acknowledging her yet she looked completely petrified. “Hime…. Miimi’s not breathing,” whimpered Koko. “Kurumin’s nowhere to be found either.” Koko stood up, placing a hand on her head as she began to pace around the room, but Hime stopped her. Koko felt the younger’s hand on her shoulders, before she was turned to face her directly. 

“Calm down, Koko! Kurumin’s just going for an errand run which is why she’s not home! That’s what she told me earlier, and m-maybe Miimi’s still breathing! There’s no need to panic,” responded Hime, as calmly as she could, though it was clear that she, too, had been panicking over what Koko said about Miimi. “Did you forget to take your medicine when you got back home? You’re starting to do that panicking thing again and it’s kinda scaring me…”

Koko took a few deep breaths, trying to tell herself that this was just her own personal _problem_ that was doing this to her. “Y-You check, then. Maybe I just can’t check properly,” she murmured, pushing Hime to Miimi’s bed. 

_Please tell me Koko’s just being paranoid_ , Hime thought, pressing her ear against Miimi’s chest. 

No heartbeat. 

Hime started to panic, as she jerked her head back and immediately grabbed the girl’s wrist to check for a pulse. It was then where she noticed just how cold Miimi’s skin had been. No pulse, either. “No way…,” whispered Hime, backing away from the bed. During all of this, she had dropped the journal Kurumin gave her, yet she immediately picked it up and began to flip the cover open. “Come on! Kurumin must have written something! She said we could save Miimi!” 

This caught the older’s attention, that she rushed behind Hime and tried to read the journal from over her shoulder. The first few pages were only detailing Miimi’s condition, but after those pages the only thing they found had been a letter clearly written by Kurumin. 

_Hime and Koko._

_I’m sorry. You two are probably right in front of Miimi as you read this, but the Miimi in front of you could never be saved. I kept this from everyone, but no matter what we do, she’ll die. Much sooner than you think. Miimi knew this, too._

_But her suffering already ended. Mine, as well. Now you two are the only ones left, but I don’t want you two to suffer for too long, either. You might hate me for what I just did, but I just want the five of us to be together. Yuha, Miimi, me, and the two of you._

_I just want the five of us to keep going on adventures. The rainforests of the afterlife are waiting for us, and I know they will be much more kinder._

_Kurumin._

The air felt so stagnant after the two girls read Kurumin’s letter. They were both in a state of shock over what they had just read, but Koko snapped out of it. “Hime…. We’re the only ones left here…” Her voice was quiet, but Hime heard it clearly enough that she reacted. The younger said nothing in return and gave Koko the journal. 

“Don’t you want to see Yuha, Kurumin, and Miimi again?”

Hime was oddly calm when she finally spoke up, but she did not bother waiting for an answer that she simply left the room. One look upon Koko’s eyes told her the answer she needed. In turn, Koko understood what Hime wanted to do, and simply agreed with her that she only sat down and listened to liquid being poured. The sound travelled everywhere, growing quieter and louder with no definite pattern, before it stopped abruptly. It stopped right before Miimi’s room.

Then she heard a small click. Hime opened the door, and the only thing Koko saw behind her were bright orange hues violently dancing. Yet again, they did not exchange any words, and instead only sat on the floor with their hands intertwined. They wanted this. As the temperature rose around the two children, they shut their eyes.

Hime and Koko waited for everything to simply _fade away_. 

* * *

Just like that, the pain was gone. 

The first thing that filled their ears had been the soft pitter-patter of rain hitting leaves. Slowly, the five girls opened their eyes, seeing one another as they all stood in the middle of what looked to be a rainforest. At first none of them realized what had been going on, but as the rain went on, everything processed in their heads. 

They were all together once again, feeling neither pain nor grief. 

Just sheer happiness. 

Before they knew it, they had all tackled one another to a hug that they fell straight to the ground. Their laughter reverberated through the forest, overpowering the sound of the gentle rain. 

“Everyone’s here!” Kurumin spoke up as she had been under everyone, tears brimming her eyes while grinning. Everyone else sat up, still having their arms around one another while they also teared up. However, their eyes darted to Miimi, who had one of the brightest smiles they had ever seen. 

Koko and Hime both placed a hand on either side of Miimi’s head, as they had such bewildered looks on their faces. “You…! You’re moving…! I can’t believe this!” Hime wrapped her arms around Miimi, hugging her tightly before swiftly planting a kiss on her cheek. “It’s been so long since you could do that!” She heard Miimi laugh, and felt her hand on top of her head. 

“You’re so silly, Hime-chan!” 

They shared a laugh once more, with Kurumin and Yuha patting Miimi’s head as well. Yuha, shortly afterwards, moved close to Koko to give her a big hug. “Koko, I missed you! I can finally tell you about everything I’ve promised you,” she chimed, clinging onto Koko’s side while the taller only ruffled Yuha’s hair. 

For a while the four of them remained sitting on the ground, laughing and chatting away. They had not once noticed that Kurumin had left and by the time she came back, she held onto a few twigs. “Hey, guys,” started Kurumin, gesturing for everyone to follow her. “We have a whole forest to explore, you know?” 

After exchanging glances with one another, they all stood up hastily and began to follow Kurumin. They each took a twig from her, swinging it about like little children. Losing track of time, the five children eventually reached the end of the rainforest, only to be met with a river connected to a big ocean. The rain began to clear up, leaving them with the beautiful sight of a rainbow gleaming over them. 

Kurumin looked at everyone else with gentle eyes, before pointing to the rainbow with her twig. “Koko, Yuha, Miimi, Hime, and Kurumin. The five of us can finally continue our adventure here in the afterlife.” 

_Every raindrop we feel, and every forest, river, and ocean we come across in the afterlife, our adventure continues on from now until eternity._


	8. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> c: Miyazaki Yuka (pov). She wanted to find out more of what happened to the orphans called the Rainforest Children.

_ The Rainforest Children’s story continues on in the afterlife.  _

I finally managed to get a hold of the files of the so-called “Rainforest Children”, thanks to the help of my friend, Ichioka Reina. The reason why she and I knew about the Rainforest Children was that because one of them was a good friend of ours, and would always tell us stories about the four others that she lived with. 

Ever since we discovered the house they lived in had burned down, we managed to connect the dots with things our friend told us and the files we obtained, which looked into the case of the house burning. It was a source we needed to understand the whole story. With Reina right beside me, the tension in the air was quite high. 

“Yuka-chan, are you sure we should be doing this?” asked Reina, but I only sighed. I just wanted to know what the files said. Finally, we opened the folder, to which we discovered information about the five girls that lived in the forest. To shorten and simplify what we saw in the files and what we heard from our friend, Reina and I compiled the parts that were the most important. 

* * *

**Takase Kurumi: “Kurumin” (20)**

She went missing during the fire, and was last seen in the local library. To this day, no one has found her, so we can’t rule her to be dead just yet. The one friend I mentioned earlier had been her, as we were once co-workers at a part time job. Maybe her sudden disappearance, however, had something to do with the fire. She  _ is _ very caring towards the other kids. 

**Maeda Kokoro: “Koko” (17)**

She was one of the two kids that died due to the fire. According to Kurumi, however, Kokoro possibly suffered from depression of some sort, and one of the things the police managed to salvage was a small jar of pills in her room -- most likely antidepressants. This may have had a correlation with the fire, but there’s no evidence that Kokoro even started the fire. The only thing that was confirmed, however, was that there were no signs of struggle on her end, which tells us that this may be voluntary. 

**Yamazaki Yuhane: “Yuha” (16)**

She had already died before the fire. It was in the morning newspaper from the day of the fire. Her death is being investigated in another case as she was the victim of homicide. Still, Reina and I couldn’t help but think that this was an incentive of some sort to the fire incident.

**Okamura Minami: “Miimi” (14)**

Kurumi told me that she was bedridden because of a rare muscle disease. When the fire happened, Minami already died a few hours prior as rigor mortis already started to settle. It’s worth noting that she suffocated in her sleep, and I’m not quite sure if it’s because of her illness. Something tells me it isn’t. 

**Kiyono Momohime: “Hime” (14)**

She’s the youngest of the group, and the one who set the house on fire, as evident by the lighter she had in her hand when their bodies were discovered. Even on the reports, however, nothing odd was listed about her. But, she is only 14; all I can think about is the fact that she was probably very affected about having Yuhane and Minami die. Still, this is all just assumption and not some official report.

* * *

As Reina and I compiled the reports and the stories we’ve heard from Kurumi, I began to think of how many problems they had. Kurumi was often worrying about them, even when the other children themselves encourage her to take a break. They were just a group of orphans trying to get by life by sticking with one another.

The reason why I wanted to get these files was partly because of wanting to know the truth. I thought I could use these reports to figure out why Kurumi went missing or why the fire was even started, since I knew more about those who are involved than the ones investigating this case. I heard stories that the police wouldn’t believe because I wasn’t involved, so I had to figure it out myself. 

But you see, I’m also a writer. The other reason why I wanted to get these files were because I wanted to write a story. I wanted to give them justice, and if Kurumi  _ is _ alive, then I can give her this story in memory of the children she grew up with. If she isn’t, then this would simply become my tribute to the Rainforest Children, who are probably on another great adventure in the afterlife. 

After putting the files away, with Reina’s help, I faced the screen in front of me and began typing my draft. 

_ Rainforest Children. By Miyazaki Yuka. _


End file.
